Airlines take own fuel supplies to Zimbabwe

LEONARD NEILL SOUTH AFRICAN Airways is taking no chances with aircraft fuel shortages in Zimbabwe. It has chartered its own tanker service from Durban to Harare and Victoria Falls to ensure its aircraft have supplies available in case the normal storage supply tanks run dry at those destinations. “The situation in Zimbabwe has forced the airline to take its own strategic fuel supply to that country,” says SAA’s Sarah Uys. The jet fuel is bought at Durban’s BP refinery and tankered by road cross border in the interests of safety. Zimbabwe’s national airline Air Zimbabwe was forced to ground several local and international flights at the beginning of December when fuel supplies in the country ran out. BA/Comair and kulula.com, the two airlines operated by British Airways, have taken a different route. Both have opted to carry extra fuel.